Jute Rugs by Fab Habitat

The biggest motivation for writing a blog was to share the story behind every product that we choose. It also provides us a platform in providing insights to various Questions that customers have, while selecting our products.

We have now been selling Jute Rugs for the past 2 years. Jute rugs have proved immensely popular & have also helped us in expanding our range beyond Indoor Rugs & Outdoor rugs. It was a good time to speak more about Jute rugs. It all started accidentally. A supplier with 2 big suitcases walked into our office unannounced. Initial reaction was to ignore him & continue with our daily work. On second thoughts, it was tempting to look up all the samples he had in his suitcase & he was very eager to show them.  He was very convincing & managed to sell us 4 styles. Thus, began a new chapter for Fab Habitat.

We started with just 4 styles in 3 sizes & we now offer more than 20 styles in up to 7 sizes.  In some of the styles, we offer from a small doormat to an extra-large size like 2.4-meter X 3-meter. By the feedback we receive the jute rugs seem to be very popular.  We were eager to learn more about Jute, Jute rugs, how are they made, benefits, the downside & much more. If we had so many questions, our customers had more. This is our attempt to share what we have learnt about Jute & related products over the last 2 years.

Our journey to get jute rugs took us to Panipat, Haryana, India. Panipat is approximately 2 hours away from Delhi, capital of India.  This is where we first learnt that jute rugs are available in various blends. All of them look great depending on the space. Jute rugs are handwoven on different handlooms, namely pit looms, shuttle & much more. Kolkata in west Bengal was the biggest commercial centre for Jute.  A part of our range for example Marigold initially came from Kolkata.  The last addition was more by an accident. On a trip to source doormats, we found an excellent range in Alappuzha, Kerala, which is located in the southern part of India. Alappuzha is green covered with coconut trees. Fantastic beaches, backwaters, provide an ideal backdrop for mixing holidays with business in Alappuzha.  We discovered the boucle & panama styled rugs in one of the factory visits. Estate Natural, Memphis, Coorg are from Alappuzha.

Pit Loom

Weaver

The Source & qualities:   Jute is a naturally grown product available in abundance in the Ganges delta shared by Bangladesh & India. It is the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton.  Besides, Jute rugs, jute is also used in making sacks, furnishings & items of home décor. Jute is widely used in making ropes. In India & the countries nearby Jute is widely used to produce bales, sacks, & even furnishings. It is a versatile product. 100% bio-degradable & renewable. Thus, it is environmentally friendly. Jute is colour fast and has sound & heat-insulating properties. This is also the reason Jute rugs prove useful during winters as well as summers.

Varieties & uses of Jute Rugs:   The range is very broad & essentially defined by the technique used for weaving as well as the combination of materials used.  Hand braiding, boucle styled, jute with cotton, jute with wool are some of the varieties which are very popular. Estate Natural rug from our range is a good example of boucle weave whereas Plumeria Round Jute Rug is a great example of hand braided technique. All the jute rugs essentially are hand woven. Depending on the size, it may take up to few days to weave a single rug. Jute rugs are available in various shapes. Rectangular & round, are some of the shapes currently available with Fab Habitat.  Besides if one tries hard, more shapes like Oval can also be found.  Round rugs prove to very useful in Kids rooms, nurseries & in foyers, or landing areas of a home. Large rugs prove useful in lounge rooms as well as providing a neutral tone in bedrooms. Jute rugs prove useful under or near bedside.

Fab Habitat currently has jute rugs for most of the spaces in a home. A doormat size like 60x90cm can be used in front of a bathroom or near the bedside.  Hall runners prove ideally suited for long hallways, besides small area rugs like 90x150cms are great in studies, or at the entrance.

Look & The Feel: Jute rugs are very popular because of the neutral look. Majority of the Jute rugs are neutral in colour. Although, a small range is available if one is looking for colours. Phoenix Sea Green from our range is a great example. The feel varies with styles. The phoenix range is soft whereas the Estate range feels hard & soft at the same time. One can almost feel feet being massaged when they walk on the Estate range.

Caring for your jute rugs:  One needs to vacuum the jute rugs regularly. Twice a week will be ideal.  In case of a spill, it is advisable to dab it with a wet cloth & dry it immediately using a hair dryer.

Downside: Being made from natural fibre, jute rugs shed & it can be noticed on dark floors. R=The dirt normally stays under the rug & it can be cleaned when the rug is vacuumed.  The shedding is minimal after few days.